The Western Community Curling Club rink of Walter Callaghan and John Vincent defeated the two-time defending champion duo of Ernie Stavert and Sterling Stratton from the host Cornwall Curling Club by a 4-2 score this afternoon to win the third annual Provincial Stick Curling Championships, sponsored by Ferguson Funeral Homes. The Alberton team stole the third and fourth ends of the six end game en route to the win.
Photo (L-R): John Vincent, Walter Callaghan
The Stavert/Stratton duo beat Edwin Walker/Clifford Picketts of the Silver Fox 6-2 in the semi-final, getting off to a quick start with a triple in the first end. The Callaghan/Vincent team beat Western clubmates Rick Hardy and Bill Glydon in their semi, to setup the final against the Cornwall team.
Hardy beat Walker 5-3 in the Consolation final.
Stavert and Stratton finished round-robin play this morning with a perfect 8-0 win-loss record, while Callaghan’s record was 6 and 1, tied with Rick Hardy in his pool, but ahead of him when the point system used in the event was used to break the tie.The Walker rink were second in Stavert’s pool, with a 6-2 record.
Hardy had beaten Cornwall’s Vernon Chowan/Grant Leard rink 7-2 in the quarter-final round, while Walker beat the rink of Kimball Blanchard and Vince Fisher from the host club by a 4-3 score. Chowan had a 5-3 win-loss record, while Blanchard was 5-2.
In stick curling there are two curlers per team, who deliver their rocks with delivery sticks, with each team member delivering from opposite ends. Sweeping is allowed only from the hog line to the back of the house at the playing end. Two curlers, one from each team, alternately deliver 6 stones each per end, while their teammate skips that end. The roles are then reversed, and the partners deliver the stones back. All games are six ends.
Seventeen teams took part in the championship.
Both the winning Callaghan and runner-up Stavert rinks have earned the right to compete in the Canadian Open Stick Curling Championship, April 3-5 in Winnipeg.